ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Benjamin (Benny) Sheffer and Lance Blumenthal, S. Horowitz & Co.
Regulatory Bodies Depending on the nature of the project, the main regu- lators or ministries that will need to be engaged are likely to include the following: • Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MOE); • Electricity Authority (also “PUA for Electricity”); • Noga – Israel Independent System Operator Ltd (IS Operator); • Standards Institution of Israel (SII) and other tech- nical / environmental regulators; and • if foreign investment or critical infrastructure is involved – the Advisory Committee for Evaluating National Security Aspects of Foreign Investments may also need to be consulted. Timeframes for Permits and Approvals While there is no single standard timeframe that applies across every type of new company in the energy and infrastructure sectors, industry norms and practical experience indicates as follows. • According to a recent audit by the State Control- ler’s Office of Israel, for a conventional power plant (fossil-fuel based) the time from initiating the planning institution approval process (under land- use planning authorities) through to operation was between approximately six-to-eight years or more. • For renewable-energy production licences – once the requirements are satisfied (ie, construction has been completed) a production licence is issued for 24 years 11 months. • Oil and gas licensing – a recent round of explo- ration licences were awarded by the Ministry of Energy in 2025, but the process from bid to award spans multiple stages (pre-qualification, evalua- tion, award) and tends to run over many months to years. 5.2 Primary Securities Market Regulators For M&A transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors in Israel, the primary securities market regula- tor is the ISA. That said, there are additional regulatory bodies to be aware of including, inter alia:
• the Israel Competition Authority (ICA) which over- sees merger control and competition law issues under the Economic Competition Law, 5748 1988; and • sector-specific regulators may also apply (for example, energy-licensing bodies for infrastructure or power plants) depending on the assets involved such as: (a) the MOE – responsible for energy policy for electricity, fuel, natural gas, renewables and infrastructure; (b) the Israel Public Utility Authority for Electricity (Electricity Authority) – regulates the electricity market; (c) the Natural Gas Authority (within the MOE) – regulates the natural gas transmission, distribu- tion and licensing in the gas sector; and (d) the Ministry of Environmental Protection – plays a role when infrastructure or energy pro- jects execution would have an environmental impact. 5.3 Restrictions on Foreign Investments Israel does not have a single foreign investment stat- ute with mandatory notification requirements that per- tains to all sectors. Instead, a national security review is carried out based on sector-specific and risk bases. The government has established the Advisory Com- mittee for Evaluating National Security Aspects of Foreign Investments, which co-ordinates screening of foreign investors in transactions involving signifi- cant national infrastructure as well as in other sensitive industries. Where the target operates in a regulated sector of national importance (of which most energy and infra- structure projects form a part), prior approval from the competent ministry or regulator may be required as a condition to closing. In those situations, the review is effectively suspensory until clearance is granted, and non-compliance can result in the transaction, licens- ing or other actions being barred. 5.4 National Security Review/Export Control National Security Review Israel does not operate a single, comprehensive for- eign investment screening statute. Instead, national security concerns are addressed through a ministerial
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